Time switch



De.'23, 1952 J. J. EVERARD 2,623,132

TIME SWITCH Filed Aug. 15, 1949 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 INVEN TOR.

Dec. 23, 1952 J J V R D 2,623,132

' TIME SWITCH Filed Aug. 13, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVEN TOR.

dlrgvl c/ Jkerar V BY 7 ara 0 F Patented Dec. 23, 1952 UNITED STAT ES PATENT OFFICE TIME SWITCHv Joseph John Everard, Manitowoc, Wis'.,, assignorto Paragon Electric Company, Two Rivers, WiSi, a corporation of" Wisconsin Application Augustlt, 1943,, SeriaLNo. 110,217

Claims. I

This. invention relates. to. a time switch and. is an. improvement over that disclosed inthe United States Patent No 2,251,429 issued to Emil. F. Swensen on August 5,. 1941, and assigned to the same assignee as. the present invention.

In time switches. as heretofore constructed, it has; been possible, to set. the. time at. which the switch is turned on and. the time at which the switch is turned off. at different. desired times. However, it has been found that. the setting of one of the points, for instance, the time at which the switch is. turned on,. disturbs the setting of the other point or the time at which the switch isturned off.

This invention is designed to overcome. the above noted defects and objects of this invention are to provide a. time switch which. is so constructed that itwill allow the setting of the means which determines the time at which the switch closes and the setting. which determines the time at which the switch opens, each wholly independent of the. other.

In certain installations where time switches are used, for example, where they are used in electric refrigerators to control the defrosting of the refrigerator, it is highly desirable to have'the switch so constructed that. it may be easily adjusted to determine the exact time at which the switch will open and. the exact time, independently of the first adjustment, at which the switch will close. There are numerous other installations where these features are desirable in time switches.

Specific objects. of this invention are to provide a time switch. in which a rotating dial is driven by asynchronous motor and is provided, with adjustable trip means for tripping the trip lever at any desired point to either open or close the circuit or to open one circuit and to close another circuit and in which wholly independent means are provided coacting with the trip means to determine the dwell or interval during which the trip lever is held in its tripped position.

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which: 7 1

Figure 1 is a view of the device with a part broken away and with the device removedrfrom the box or housing.

Figure 2 is a view corresponding to- Figure. 1 with parts broken away and with a part of the dial broken away and with partsv in section.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view on the line 3-45 of Figure. 1.

Figures 4, 5, and 6 are views partly diagrammatic and partly in section showing the trip lever z y in its normal position in its tripped. position at an. instantiust after tripping, and in its tripped position, just an instant before it returns to its normal position, respectively.

Figure. 7' is a diagrammatic view showing the relativev relation between the driving synchronous motor, the time, dial, the trip lever; the quick motion mechanism and the switch.

Referring. to the drawings, it will be seen that the device comprises a time dial I which is driven from a synchronous motor and reduction mechanism indicated generally at 2 in Figure 7', so that the time dial rotates once every twenty-four hours. The dial is removably' locked to the driving shaft 3 by means of a thumb nut 4, so that it may be set at the correct time by loosening the thumb nut 4 and setting the time by rotating the dial I to bring the correct number on the scale 5 of the dial opposite the pointer 6. The dial I is provided with a plurality of threaded apertures 'i at regularly spaced intervals which receive threaded tripping pins 8 at any desired aperture. When the pins are not in use, they may be carired or secured in the threaded apertures 9 formed in the face plate III of the device.

Referring to Figure 7 it is to be noted that the dial I is driven as indicated from the synchronous motor and reduction mechanism 2 and that the pins 8 are arranged to operate a trip lever or switch operating lever H which in turn, through quick motion mechanism I2, operates the switch indicated, generally by the reference character I3 to either open or close the switch when the trip lever I I is tripped or to open one switch and close anothenas shown in Figure 7, when the trip lever is tripped. The construction of the quick motion mechanism indicated diagrammatically at I2 and the arrangement of the switch It and the driving means for the dial I may be the same as that illustrated and described in the prior patent hereinabove noted.

A portion of the quick motion mechanism, as will be apparent from the description and disclosure in the prior patent hereinabove referred to, includes a tongue I 4, which rocks back and forth in, an arcuate slot l5. This tongue is normally seated within a notch I6 in the face plate III, as set forth in the above. patent, and suddenly snaps. to the extreme opposite end of the arcuate slots I5 after the trip lever II has been rocked to a predetermined position, for example to the positionv shown in Figure 5. Also as set forth in the above patent, the trip lever II is rigid with ashaft I1 which, through the medium of the quick motion mechanism I2 operates the shaft I8 and the rock arm 19 which in turn operates the movable portions 20 and 2| of the switch indi cated generally at l3. Any other suitable means could be employed from that specifically described in the patent provided the trip lever II is the switch operating lever which imparts motion to the switch to open and close the switch with a quick action. The trip lever l I is provided with a sector-shaped cam member 22 pivoted as indicated at 23 to the trip lever and provided with an arcuate slot 24 through which a locking screw 25 passes so that when the screw is loosened the cam member 22 or sector-shaped portion may be adjusted to any desired point and may thereafter be locked to the trip lever by tightening the locking screw 25. The cam member 22 is provided with a cam portion 26 which is circular with its center located at the pivot 23 of the cam member 22. It is to be noted that the cam member 22 is provided with an extension or lip 21 which is arranged to register with any one of a plurality of graduations 28 corresponding to a series of numbers indicated at 29 indicating the time of dwell or, in other words, the time during which the trip lever is held in its tripped position. The numbers 29 indicate the minutes of dwell or, in other words, the number of minutes which elapse between the time the switch is moved to tripping position and the time it is released from tripped position.

It is to be noted that the pins 8 have downwardly projecting portions 30, see Figure 3, which project below the dial l and which engage the circular cam or cam portion 26 of the cam member 22.

It will be seen from an examination of Figure 5 that no matter where the cam member 22 is set, that is to say, no matter with which one of the graduations 28 the tongue 21 registers, that nevertheless the circular cam 26 intersects the circle traced by the pins 8 at exactly the same point as is obvious from an examination of Figure 4. It is also obvious from an examination of Figure 5 that the point at which the switch is tripped is determined solely by the position of the pin 8 which is actuating or engaging the cam portion 25. This point is independent of the adjustment of the cam portion 22. However, the point at which the pin 8 passes beyond the cut-away or end portion of the cam 26 is determined by the setting of the cam member 22 and is independent of the point at which the pin 6 moves the switch to tripping position as discussed hereinahove. Thus the two adjustments, namely, the adjustment to determine the time at which the switch is tripped and the adjustment to determine the time at which the switch is released for motion back to its initial position are wholly independent of each other.

It is to be noted, for example, from Figure 7, that the switch and the switch operating arm or trip lever H are biased towards neutral position or initial position in any suitable manner, for example, by means of the spring trip 3|. Therefore, as soon as the trip lever I l is released the switch and trip lever snap back to neutral position. The quick motion mechanism I2 is so arranged that it imparts a quick motion to the switch mechanism when the trip lever is moved from initial position to tripped position.

It will be seen that a novel form of time switch has been provided by this invention in which the particular time at which the switch is to operate may be determined by one adjustment and the particular time at which the switch is to move 4 back to its normal or initial position is determined by another adjustment and that these two adjustments are wholly independent of each other.

It is to be noted particularly that the construction by which the independence of adjustment is secured is very simple and is easy to produce. Further it is to be noted that the adjustments themselves may be quickly and easily made.

Although this invention has been described in considerable detail, it is to be understood that such description is intended as illustrative rather than limiting, as the invention may be variously embodied and is to be interpreted as claimed.

I claim:

1. A time switch comprising a revolubly mounted dial, motor means for driving said dial, a switch, a trip lever for operating said switch, said trip lever being pivoted at a fixed point and being biased towards an initial position, a member adjustably carried by said trip lever, and trip means carried by said dial and arranged to engage said member to move said trip lever from initial position to tripped position, said trip means being arranged to pass beyond the end portion of said member to thereby release said trip lever for motion back to its initial position, the position of said end portion with reference to said trip lever determining the time of release of said trip lever.

2. A time switch comprising a revolubly mounted dial, motor means for rotating said dial, trip means adjustably carried by said dial, a switch, a trip lever for operating said switch, said trip lever being pivoted at a fixed point and being biased towards an initial position, and cam means adjustably carried by said trip lever and arranged to be engaged by said trip means to move said trip lever to a tripped position, said cam means having an end portion beyond which said trip means are adapted to pass as said dial rotates to thereby release said trip lever for motion back to its initial position, the position of said end portion with reference to said trip lever determining the time of release of said trip lever and the position of said trip means with reference to said dial determining the time of actuation of said trip lever.

3. A time switch comprising a revolubly mounted dial, motor means for driving said dial, trip means adjustably carried by said dial, a trip lever pivoted at a fixed point and biased towards an initial position, switch mechanism operated from said trip lever, and a circular cam revolubly towards an initial position, switch mechanism operated from said trip lever, a circular cam revolubly mounted on said trip lever, said cam having an end portion whose position relative to said trip lever is adapted to be adjusted to determine the pointat which the trip means will ride past said cam to release said trip lever' for motion back to its initial position, and means for locking said cam to said trip lever in any desired position.

5. A time switch comprisinga revoluble 5 dial, motor means for driving said dial, at least one trip pin arranged to be positioned at any desired point on said dial, a trip lever pivotally mounted at a fixed point adjacent said dial, a cam member pivoted on said trip lever and having a circular portion provided with an end, said circular portion of said cam member being arranged to be engaged by said pin to move said trip lever from an initial position to a tripped position, said pin being arranged to ride oil? the end of said circular portion to thereby release said trip lever, means biasing said trip lever towards initial position, and switch means operated by said trip lever.

JOSEPH JOHN EVERARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

